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Ailbhe Mcdonagh

Cellist Ailbhe McDonagh is a versatile figure who is also active as a composer, folk musician, educator, and author of pedagogical books. She has performed and recorded widely as a cellist, and her compositions are often used in Ireland's national music examinations. McDonagh was born in Dublin on November 29, 1982. Her first name is pronounced AL-vah. She began composing early in her life, and as a youth, she won first prizes for composition at Feis Ceoil (the Irish National Music Festival) and the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. She attended the Royal Academy of Music, studying cello, piano, and composition, and while still a student, she saw her composition Anastasia published by the RIAM Local Centre Examinations, which included the work in its Grade 4 examination collection. That became the first of many McDonagh compositions used in Irish music exams. McDonagh went on to the Eastman School of Music, studying for a master's degree in cello performance while also taking composition courses. After giving a debut recital with pianist John O'Conor, who had also been her piano teacher in Dublin, McDonagh performed as a recitalist and soloist around Europe, Asia, and North America, including at Carnegie Hall in New York. She also performed for Ireland's president at the Áras an Uachtaráin presidential residence, and she has frequently appeared on Irish television and radio. She often performs in a duo with her sister, pianist Orla McDonagh, and she is a member of the Ficino Ensemble and the traditional Irish music group Trio Elatha. In addition to music for children, McDonagh has fulfilled chamber music commissions for such venues as the Great Music in Irish Houses Festival, the Hamburg Chamber Music Festival, and the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival in the U.S. She has published two books of piano music for children, called It's a Piano Thing, Vols. 1 and 2, and also two volumes of It's a Cello Thing for young cellists. McDonagh is on the cello faculty at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin. After several album credits, including an appearance on The Cranberries release, Something Else, in 2017, McDonagh released her debut album, a cycle of Beethoven's cello sonatas, on the Steinway & Sons label in 2021, with O'Conor as accompanist.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography

9 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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